Spaces: organize a research thread (and add your own files)
Goal. Create a Space for one project — a persistent hub with your own custom instructions and uploaded sources (a paper, a protocol, your notes) — so every question in it is answered against your materials, not just the open web.
Create a Space called "Microbiome review", upload 2–3 PDFs of papers you're reading, add the instruction "Always cite which uploaded paper each point comes from", then ask: "What do these papers disagree on regarding methodology?"
A Space is a saved research thread with its own sources and standing instructions. Questions asked inside it search your uploaded files and (optionally) the web, with citations back to your own documents.
- 1Create the Space. Click Spaces in the left menu and make a new one — name it for the project. (Spaces require a Perplexity Pro plan.)
- 2Add Sources. Use Add Sources to upload your files — papers, a protocol, your notes — or to attach links. Uploaded files become the searchable knowledge base for that Space.
- 3Add Instructions. Use Add Instructions to set standing rules for the whole Space, e.g. "answer concisely", "always name which source each claim comes from", or "explain at a graduate-biology level".
- 4Ask across your sources. Now ask comparison questions — "where do these papers disagree?", "summarise the methods section of each" — and you get answers cited back to your own documents. You can also share the Space with collaborators.
- 5Trick: put "flag any claim my uploaded sources do NOT support" in the Space instructions — it stops the Space from quietly filling gaps with web content you didn't vet.
You'll see. A persistent project hub where your uploaded papers are the sources, your standing instructions shape every answer, and citations point back to your own files — shareable with a study group or lab.
Cost. Spaces and file uploads are a Pro feature. Direct file attachments per thread and file-size limits apply; check Perplexity's current limits as they change.
Takeaway. A Space turns Perplexity from a one-off search box into a project workspace: your sources, your standing instructions, citations to your own documents — and you can share it.